New Year, New You: Part 4

Ancient Chinese military general, Sun Tzu once said, “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the results of a hundred battles.” If you have taken the time to understand your strengths, and weaknesses, and truly prepared yourself to act on the decisions you are making, there should be no fear in what the results will be for you and your family.

Here are 2 Keys to seeing results:

1. Lasting Changes: We’ve heard it said before that it takes 21 days to create a habit. Coaches use this principle every day in athletics. It is the reason why we practice, or having training camp in football. It creates the opportunity to put into practice the techniques being taught, so it can become muscle memory. Muscle memory is simply the process of mastering a movement so you don’t have to think about what you are doing, and you can just be in the moment. When you ask any athlete about how they do what they do, most will tell you that it was the result of countless hours of shooting that shot, throwing that pass, or making that put.

The same is true for habits in our personal life. What habits to you have that are keeping you from accomplishing your personal and relational goals with your family. Identify what those habits are, and being consistent in creating new once, is a key in actually seeing the results of the goals you have set for this year.

2. Relapse Prevention: How do I handle my mistakes? In our last article we discussed the importance of determining the rewards for accomplishing your goals. It is also important to determine how will you handle your mistakes. Regardless of how good your intentions are, you will make a mistake from time to time. Predetermining how you will handle it is simply a way for you to not put a pressure on yourself that is impossible to maintain. Many people struggle with forgiving themselves for their mistakes. Over time, not forgiving yourself can become the sole reason why you don’t see the results of your goals.

Be honest with yourself. You are not perfect. You will make mistakes during this process, and that’s okay. Just don’t stop the process of accomplishing your goals because you had a bad day.

Being consistent with your goals by creating new habits, and being realistic with yourself by make a plan for handling your mistakes will take you a long way in helping you accomplish your goals for this year.